Delegates debated the rights of
citizens--even who had a right to be a citizen. Although the Constitution was a
bilingual document, the rights of the Californios, and most other people of color in
California were severely compromised. California's native people were accorded no rights
at all, and were the target of many discriminatory laws and violent attacks. Even after
the Constitution established a formal code of laws, disorder and dishonesty reigned.
Groups of citizens in San Francisco organized in Committees of Vigilance to enforce their
own interpretation of law, order, and justice.